Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU) have been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the six analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have assigned a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $37.00.

BTU has been the subject of a number of research reports. Benchmark upped their target price on shares of Peabody Energy from $23.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Peabody Energy from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Peabody Energy from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Peabody Energy from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, B. Riley Financial increased their price target on Peabody Energy from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th.

Peabody Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BTU opened at $32.34 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock has a market cap of $3.93 billion, a P/E ratio of -71.87 and a beta of 0.52. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $33.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $27.67. Peabody Energy has a twelve month low of $9.61 and a twelve month high of $39.95.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The coal producer reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. Peabody Energy had a negative net margin of 1.37% and a negative return on equity of 0.93%. The business’s revenue was down 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.25 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Peabody Energy will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Peabody Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 23rd will be issued a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 23rd. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Peabody Energy’s payout ratio is presently -66.67%.

Insider Transactions at Peabody Energy

In related news, COO Darren Ronald Yeates sold 13,892 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.40, for a total transaction of $505,668.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 113,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,129,216. This represents a 10.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Scott T. Jarboe sold 2,151 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.26, for a total transaction of $73,693.26. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 82,306 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,819,803.56. The trade was a 2.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BTU. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy by 104.3% in the 2nd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,006 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 1,024 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Peabody Energy by 57.7% during the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,229 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 816 shares in the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Peabody Energy by 763.4% in the third quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,131 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Peabody Energy in the second quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Peabody Energy during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. 87.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Peabody Energy

Peabody Energy Corporation is one of the world’s largest private-sector coal companies, engaged primarily in the production and sale of metallurgical and thermal coal. The company’s operations span surface and underground mines, serving utilities, steel mills and other industrial customers that rely on coal as an essential component in power generation and steelmaking. Peabody’s product portfolio includes high-energy thermal coal for electricity generation and low-volatile metallurgical coal used in steel production, reflecting its diverse end-market reach.

Founded in 1883, Peabody Energy has grown from a regional mining concern into a global energy supplier.